Burner



May 29, 1934. R, M. SHERMAN BURNER Filed June 29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 poses Patented May 2??, i934 UNITE.

STTES rarer einer.

BURNER Connecticut Application June 29, 1931, Serial No. 547,715

14 Claims.

invention relates toV burners, and more particularly, though not exclusively, to what are commonly termed combustion tube burners. to which liquid fuel, herein for descriptive purreferred to as oil, is admitted and therein vapor/ized, the ascending fuel Vapor being burned in an overhead combustion chamber, to which air is supplied through the combustion tubes which are in the form of perforated, tubular walls.

The objects of the invention, among other things, are to improve the construction of burners of this type, increase their utility by making them adaptable to a wider range of service, and to decrease the starting interval period required f foi preheating when employed with liquid fuel, and to provide a simple but practical form of burner so constructed that it may be operated for either 1ong or short intervals and with complete effectiveness from a supply of either oil or gaseous fuel, or both.

In burners of this type it has been found that gaseous fuel should be supplied to the burner at such points that the position of the gas orifice or orifices will not interfere with the intended function of the burner when employed with oil and that the vaporization and combustion of the oil should be carried on under such conditions that interference will not be had with the functioning of the burner when employed with gas. One object of the present invention is to provide a burner which may be used under conditions oi maximum effectiveness with either gas or oil alone or gas and oil together.

These and other objects of the invention will be best understood by reference to the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying illustration showing one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will bemore particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Y

Fig. l is a central, longitudinal section in elevation, partly broken away, showing one form of the invention applied to a common type of com-- bustion tube burner;

Fig. 2 is an end View on a somewhat larger scale, showing the air and gas mixing tube;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the burner base looku ing from above, with the combustion tubes and cover plate removed;

Fig. 4 is a section in detail on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a similar section on the line 5-5 in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings and to the embodiment oi the invention which is here shown for illustrative purposes, one of the many forms which the invention may assume is shown, by way of example, as applied to a combustion tube burner of the well known oil fed type. It is to be ,y understood, however, that the same has applica- 6') tion to oil or other liquid fuel burners of widely dierent form. v

Referring first to the oil burning means for the burner, the latter is provided with a base l1 in the form of a casting having an outer, generally annular portion 13 and an inner, concentric, annular portion l5 connected one to the other by a series of webs i7, herein four in nlnnber, and providing for an annular admission space 19 be- P x tween the two annular members of the base, in- VJ terrupted only by the webs. As indicated in Fig.

3, the base may be formed integrally with or attached to similar duplicate base member, one of the two burner structures only being herein l shown.

The inner member l5 is provided with a central air admission opening 21 surrounded by an upstanding ring-like flange 23, the outer edge of the inner member also having an upstanding ring-like flange 25 spaced from but concentric with the flange 23, the flanges 23 and 25 together with the connecting wall of the base casting forming a relatively wide annular compartment or channel, en the bottomof which there is pro-V vided a raised lip 27 extending completely around the channel and separating the latter into an outer fuel space defined by the groove 29 (Fig. 3), and an inner vaporizing space 3l between the lip 27 and the flange 23, to which vaporizing space oil is adapted to be delivered by the pipe connec- 90 tion 33 through the opening 35 in the bottom wall of the vaporiaing space. The annular lip 27 constitutes a dam orbafile which normally prevents the flow of oil in liquid form from the supply opening 35 to the fuel groove 29, the passage of vaporized oil taking place, however, without hindrance over the top of the raised lip. The bottom of the vaporizing space within the annular lip constitutes a ilow plate over which any liquid entering the burner must flow and by which, when the burner is heated, it is readily vaporized.

The outer annular member 13 of the base casting is also constructed to present an outer fuel groove 37 (Fig.V 3) formed between the upright spaced flanges 39 and el, the outer fuel groove being of lesser radial width than the groove between the iianges 25 and 23 but approximately the same as that of the fuel space 29 between the flange 25 and the lip 27.

The outer'fuel groove is connected to the inv bottom of the channel.

ner fuel groove by means of the supply ducts 43 formed in the webs 17, so that free circulation of vaporized oil supplied from the Vaporizing space takes place throughout both fuel grooves.

The top of the vaporizing chamber 31 is closed, except for the direct passage of vaporized oil to the fuel space 29, by a removable, annular cover plate 45 (Fig. 1) formed preferably of thin sheet metal, such as chromium steel, the inside edge of the plate having a down-turned flange to seat over the upper edge of the base flange 23 with a preferably close fit. The walls of the cover plate extend outwardly, and herein also downwardly, over the vaporizing compartment and over the annular lip 27, but are spaced vertically from the latter to provide an annular outlet from the vaporizing compartment of the fuel space so that any vaporizing oil may pass directly over the lip, between the latter and the cover plate and into the fuel space 29.

Above the lip 27, lthe plate has a downwardly extending flange provided with an out-turned lip, on which there is supported a perforated sheet metal cylinder 47 (Fig. l) constituting the in ner one of the combustion tubes. A similar but larger concentric cylinder 49 is removably seated on the outer shouldered edge of the flange 25, so that there is provided between the two cylinders an elongated combustion chamber 51 aligned with and constituting an extension of the underlying fuel space 29. The concentrically spaced, perforated, sheet metal cylinders 53 and 55 are likewise removably seated on the shouldered edges of the flanges 39 and 41, respectively, providing between them the combustion chamber 57 having a relation to the outer fuel space 37 similar to that of the combustion chamber 5l to the fuel space 29.

It will be understood that the perforations in the walls of the cylinders may be of any size, shape or arrangement to provide suitable air admission openings for the combustion chambers and are preferably distributed throughout the entire surface thereof.

A removable, annular, cover plate 59 is provided with its edges resting on the tops of the sheet metal cylinders 49 and 53 to close the top of the annular air space therebetween, and a disk-shaped closure v61, with its edges resting on the upper edges of the cylinder 47, is similarly provided to close the top of the central air chamber, leaving, however, annular openings in the tops of the two combustion chambers 51 and 57 for the escape of the products of combustion. The closure plates 59 and 61, if desired, may be provided with one or two apertures to permit the partial escape of air therethrough.

To provide for the use of gaseous fuel, in the described embodiment of the invention the base casting is cored immediately beneath the wide channel to form an underlying, inner, annular, gas chamber 63 (Fig. 5) which extends entirely around the burner beneath the inner, broad channel and is separated from the latter by the A second annular, outer gas chamber 65 is similarly formed immediately beneath the other fuel groove 37, being separated therefrom by the bottom wall of that groove.

The outer gas chamber 65 is connected to the inner chamber 63 by supply ducts 57 formed one in the lower part of each of the four webs 17, so that gaseous fuel may circulate freely from one chamber' to the other. To supply gaseous fuel to the two gas chambers, one of them, and herein the inner chamber 63, is connected to the gas recipe/i supply pipe 69 (Fig. 1), which in turn is connected 'through the control valve 71 with a source of gaseous fuel supply, which latter may be the ordinary service main or a gas-containing storage tank in which the gas is maintained under pressure, or with any other suitable source. Preferably the gas entering the gas chamber 63 from the supply pipe 69 is caused first to pass through a suitable air and gas mixing device, such as the mixing tube 73, which is attached to the bottom of the casting and opens into the gas chamber 63. The lower end of the mixing tube has lthe air supply opening controlled by the valve plate 77 so that the amount of air supplied may be regulated. The gaseous fuel, therefore, entering the chamber 63 is in the form of a mixture of gas and air, further mixture of which lakes place in circulating through the chambers 63 and 65, so that it is adapted to issue from the burner orifices in the burner in the form of a combustible mixture which, when ignited, will readily burn.

I have found that in delivering gaseous fuel to the burner it should enter or be discharged at a position above the bottom of the -fuel groove and preferably at such a point that, when the burner is operated wiih oil alone, neither the liquid oil nor the relatively heavy oil vapor delivered to the fuel groove will have opportunity to gravitate downward into the gas orifice. When the gas is supplied through an orifice located at the bottom of the fuel groove, conditions are apt to arise, particularly in starting the burner with oil alone, where the unignited oil vapor tends to descend and pass into the gas orifice and, combining with the air in the underlying chamber, to burn back in the chamber and the air mixing tube. Accordingly, in the describedembodiment of the invention, while means are provided 'for conducting the vaporized oil through the fuel grooves to the combustion chamber to be burned therein with an admixture of air, the gas and air orifices are arranged at such a height, and herein at or about the bottom of the combustion chamber in close approximation to the air supplied to the combustion chamber, that the oil vapor has no opportuniy to enter the air orifices or to burn otherwise than in an ascending body in the combustion chamber.

As illustrated in the drawings, this is accomplished by threading a series of small hollow nipples or burner tubes 79 into the bottom of each fuel groove, these being suiably spaced, for example, as shown in Fig. 3, each tube communieating with and constituting an air and gas supply conduit from the underlying chamber 63 or 65 and providing a discharge orice at or near the bottom of the combustion chamber well above the botlom of the fuel groove. The upper tip of each nipple may, if desired, be provided with a slot (not shown) so that 'by the application of a screw driver it may be readily removed for replacement or cleaning.

These tubes are of lesser diameter than the width of the fuel groove and 'are so spaced with rela'ion to the sides of the groove and to each other as to allow free circulation of the oil vapor therein. Although, for the purpose of better illustration, the tubes are shown in the sectional views of Figs. 1 and 4 as opposite the enrance or exit ends of the supply ducts 43, they are preferably so spaced and located in some such manner as shown in Fig. 3 as to avoid any tendency of blocking or interfering with the passage of oil vapor into or out of said supply ducts.

When the burner is operated with oil alone, 'the ascending oil vapor ignites at or immediately l,

above the gas orifices, where it receives a'fsupply of air through the perforations of the combuon tubes, supplemented by the air supplied through the burner orifices, but has no opportunity to gravitate into the air and gas orifices, conduits or chambers or to burn otherwise than in the combustion chamber. When the burner is operated with gaseous fuel alone, commingling with the air supply entering through the walls of the combustion chamber, it burns therein just above the burner orifices. When the burner is operated from both an oil and gaseous fuel supply, the oil and gaseous fuel vapors, commingling with each other and with the air supply of the combustion chamber, burn with a blue flame of exceedingly intense heat.

The oil supply pipe 33 is connected to a source of oil supply, which may comprise an elevated tank or the like, combined with any one of the feeding devices customarily employed with burners of the combustion tube type, and which provide for the flow of oil to the burner from some denitegheight or level capable of being accurately regulated, so that the flow of oil may be maintained at a predetermined level over the bottom of the vaporizing space 3l in the burner. Such tanks and regulating devices are of common construction and are not herein shown. In the normal operation of the burner, the oil is vaporized in the vaporizing space 3l, the liquidV oil being prevented from leaving the latter due to the raised lip 27 which is preferably carried'to a height greater than that of the level permitted the oil under the action of the external regulating devices.

If it is desired to operate the burner with oil or to out down the starting interval by employing the preheating effect of gas, the gas may be first turned on and ignited to preheat thegburner. This quickly develops the full heating capacity of the burner, providing an intensely hot blue flame. The temperature of the walls of the base is rapidly raised thereby to a point where the oil may be turned on with assurance of its being vaporized as soon as it enters the vaporizing space 31. This preheating effect is accelerated by the presence of the burner tubes '79 which serve as heat conductors and assist in conducting the heat from the combustion chamber down to the walls of the base casting, Where it is added to that transferred by conduction and radiation from the combustion chambers and air chambers through the walls of the base and the cover plate 45. A rapid and intense rise in vaporizing temperature thereupon takes place. The gas continues to be supplied while the oil is at first admitted slowly, so that the oil first entering and traveling over the bottom of the vaporizing space is completely vaporized, the resulting oil vapor rising over the lip 27, entering the fuel grooves, and ascending to the combustion chamber, where, with the air supplied thereto, it burns above the burner oriiices. As soon as the burner becomes more highly heated through the joint combustion of the gas and oil, the former may be gradually cut off and the full supply of oil admitted, the burner working exclusively with the supply of oil. By this means the normally prolonged starting interval may be cut down to one of comparatively short or insignificant duration.

If, during the operation of the burner under oil, it is desired to force the burner beyond its oil heating capacity, the gas supply may be turned on at any time and either with or without the coincident supply of oil, a flame may be produced ,of greater volume and heating intensity than can Ze had from the oil supply alone.

While I have herein shown and described for the purpose of illustration one specific embodiment of the invention and one particular application thereof, it is to be understood that eX- tensive deviations from and changes in the illustrated form may be made and applications thereof other than herein illustrated may be utilized, all without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1A combustion tube burner having a base provided with laterally spaced inner and outer fuel grooves, pairs of perforated combustion tubes in upstanding relation to said base forming airsupplied combustion chambers above and communicating one with each fuel groove, `a gas chamber adjacent each groove, gas supply conduits in each of said grooves communicating with said gas chambers and having gas burner orifices positioned above the bottom of the groove, means for supplying liquid fuel to said base to be vaporized therein and burned in said combustion chambers, and means for supplying gaseous fuel `to said gas chambers.

2. A combustion tube burner having a base provided with laterally spaced inner and outer fuel grooves, pairs of perforated combustion tubes in upstanding relation to said base forming airsupplied combustion chambers above and communicating one with each fuel groove, a covered vaporizing chamber in said base communicating with each of said grooves, means for supplying liquid fuel to said vaporizing chamber to be vaporized therein and delivered to said fuel grooves for burning in said combustion chambers, gas supply conduits in each of said grooves having gas burner orifices above the level of the delivery of the fuel vapor thereto, and means for supplying gaseous fuel through said conduits to be burned in said combustion chamber.

3. A combustion tube burner having a pair of combustion tubes forming between them a combustion chamber and an air chamber Within the inner tube, a base provided with a fuel groove beneath and communicating with said combustion chamber, means for supplying liquid fuel to said base to be vaporized and burned in said combustion chamber, said burner having gas burner means above the bottom of the fuel groove and discharging into said combustion chamber, and means for supplying gaseous fuel to said burner means.

4. A combustion tube burner having a pair of combustion tubes forming between them a combustion chamber and an air chamber within the inner tube, a burner base having a fuel groove beneath and communicating with the combustion chamber, a vaporizing chamber communicating with the fuel groove, means for supplying liquid fuel to the vaporizing chamber, said burner having one or more gas burner means delivering gaseous fuel to the combustion chamber, said burner means being positioned above the bottom of the fuel groove, and means for supplying said burner means with gaseous fuel.

5. A combustion tube burner having a base provided With inner and outer, concentric, fuel grooves and connecting fuel passages, perforated combustion tubes in upstanding relation to said base forming spaced, inner and outer combustion chambers over and communicating with said inner and outer .fuel grooves, respectively, Aand forming also anintermediateA air chamber-.between said combustion chambers. and, aninner airchamber within the inner,tube,.said.basefhaving,openingsgfor admitting airto saidairchamberaineans for supplying `liquidifuelto saidbase to be vaporized therein and burned insaid combustionchambers,;and means for supplyinggaseousfuel.to said burner .separately from ,said .liquid fuel supply, said last named means .comprising .gas .delivery orifices .for each fuel .groove Apositioned above vthe bottom of the .fuel groove.

6. A burner having a pair of perforated,.combustion tubes forming between them a combustion chamber, abase having a fuel groovebeneath and opening into said combustion chamber, means for-supplying liquid fuel to the base to be vaporized andburned in said combustion chamber, said base having a gas chamber adjacent said fuel groove, a series of spaced gas supplying conduits in saidfuel groove and communicating withsaid gas chamber, said conduits having gas burning orifices positioned above the bottom of the fuel groove, and means for supplying gaseous fuel to said gas chamber.

7. Aburner of the class described having a pair of spaced, concentric, annular, vertically arranged, perforated combustion tubes forming betweenfthema combustion chamber, a base having upstanding .walls forming between them anannular fuel .groove .beneath and communicating with .said combustion chamber, a gas chamber beneath and substantially coextensive with said fuel groove, a circular series of spaced gas supply conduits in said fuel groove and communicating with saidgas chamber, said conduits having gas burning orifices positioned above the bottom of vthe .fuel groove, and means for supplying gaseous `fuel to said gas chamber and through saidorificestobe burned in said combustion chamber.

,8. A burner-of the class .described comprising pairs of spaced, concentric, vertically arranged,

combustion tubes forming. spacedinner and outer,

combustion chambers with an .intermediate air chamber therebetween and an -.innerair chamber enclosedby the inner tube, a basehaving upstanding walls forming between them inner vand outer spaced fuel grooves, one beneathandcommunieating with each of said combustion chambers, said ibase having ducts connecting said `fuel groovesand having also openings .for admitting air vertically therethrough .into each of said air chambers, means to supply liquidfuel-,to said base to be vaporized therein and burned insaid-combustion chambers, a gas chamber formed in said base adjacent each of said fuel grooves-and substantially coextensive therewith, a series of spaced gas supply conduits in each of -said grooves communicating with the adjacent gas chamber and having gas burning orifices positioned above the bottom `of the fuel groove, and means for supplying gaseous fuel to said gas chambers and through said orifices to be burned in said combustion chambers.

9. A burner of the class described comprising pairs of spaced, concentric, vertically arranged, combustion tubes forming spaced inner and outer combustion chambers with anintermediate air vchamber therebetween and an innerair chamber enclosed by the inner tube, a base having upstanding walls forming between them innerand outer spaced fuel grooves, one beneath and communieating with each of said combustion chambers, said base having openings for admitting air vertically therethrough ,into Yeach of said air lchambers-andhaving fuel supply ducts connecting-said fuel grooves, -saidbase further having an opentop-vaporizing chamber communicating with said fuel grooves, `a removable cover plate for said vaporizing chamber, Vmeans for admitting liquid fuel from -below directly to the bottom of said vaporizingchamber, gas chambers formed in said base-adjacent said fuelgrooves, a series of spaced gassupply conduits in each of said -fuel grooves communicating with the adjacent gas chamber and terminating in gas burning orifices above the bottom of the fuel groove and beneath the communicating combustion chamber, and means for supplying gaseous fuel to said vgas chambers and through said orifices to be burned in said combustion chambers.

10. A burner of the class described comprising pairs of spaced, concentric, vertically arranged, ccmbustion ktubes forming spaced inner and outer combustion chambers with an intermediate air chamber therebetween and an inner air chamber enclosed by the inner tube, a base having vupstanding walls forming between them inner and outer spaced fuel grooves, one beneath and communicating with each of said combustion chambers and-having fuel supply conduits connecting saidfuelgrooves, said base having open-- ings for admitting air vertically therethrough into each of said air chambers and .having fuel supply ducts connecting said fuel grooves, said base further having an open-top vaporizing chamber arranged concentrically within and communicating with said inner fuel groove and beneath said inner air chamber, a removable cover plate for said vaporizing chamber, means for admitting liquid fuel to said vaporizing chamber, gas chambers formed in said base one substantially coextensive with and beneath each fuel groove, a series of spaced .gas supply conduits in .each of said fuel grooves communicating with the adjacent gas chamber and terminating in gas burning orices ,above the bottom of the fuel groove .and beneath the communicating combustion chamber, and means for supplying gaseous fuel to said gas chambers .and through said orifices to be burned in said combustion chambers.

.11. .A combustion tube burner of the class described having a base vprovided with a fuel receiving chamber, a perforated combustion tube enclosing acombustion chamber above and in communication with said fuel receiving chamber and through the perforations of which air is supplied to said combustion chamber, means for supplying liquid fuel to said base to be vaporized therein and burned in said combustion chamber, a gas associated with said base and adjacent said fuel receiving chamber, a circular series of spaced, upwardly directedgas supply conduits in said fuel receiving chamber communicating with said gas chamber and .having gas burner orifices closely adjacent theinside of the perforated wall of said combustion tube and vpositioned above the bottom of said fuel chamber, .and means for supplying gaseous fuel to said chamber and through said orifices to be burned in said combustion chamber with the air supplied 4through said combustion tube.

12. A combustion tube burner having a base provided with a fuel groove and having .perforated combustion tubes in upstanding relation thereto .toform between them an overhead combustionchamber aligned with `said groove,.means for supplying liquid fuel to be vaporized in said base and burned in said combustion chamber, a gas supply member upstanding from the bottom of the groove and spaced from the sides thereof and presenting at its upper end a gas orifice, and means to supply gaseous fuel to said member.

13. A combustion tube burner having a base provided with a fuei chamber, means for supplying liquid fuel to said base to be vaporized and burned in said burner, the latter being provided with perforated combustion tubes forming between them an air supplied combustion chamber above and communicating with said fuel chamber, said burner having gas burning orifices opening into the burner above the bottom of the fuel chamber' and adjacent the area of communication thereof With the combustion chamber, and

means for supplying gaseous fuel to said combustion chamber through said orifices.

14. A combustion tube burner having a base provided with a fuel groove and having perforated combustion tubes in upstanding relation thereto to form between them an overhead combustion chamber aligned With said groove, means for supplying liquid fuel to be vaporized in said base and burned in said combustion chamber, an air and gas chamber associated with said base, said burner having means communicating With the air and gas chamber for delivering air and gaseous fuel therefrom at or above the region of ignition of the liquid fuel Vapor and means for supplying air and gaseous fuel to said chamber to be burned in said combustion chamber.

RALLSTON M. SHERMAN.

CERTIFICATE OF CRRECTIN.

Patent No. 1,961,084. May 29, 1934.

RALLSTN M. SHERMAN.

1t is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows; Page 4, line 133, claim 11, after "gas" insert chamber; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of June, A. D. 1934.

Bryan M. Battey (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

